All the good things about the current-gen consoles

There sure is a lot of fanboyism surrounding game consoles. Each of the three current consoles has a very vocal, almost religious, following. In order to be a member of the club,you have to really hate the competition.

As a game journalist, I try to be as impartial as possible. Each system has their weak points (by now you probably know what they are) but I intend to focus on the positive. We could all use a little positive energy in our lives sometimes, right?

I own all three: a Nintendo Wii, a Microsoft Xbox 360, and a Sony Playstation 3. I’ve had the 360 for a little over a year, the Wii since launch day (mid November) and the PS3 for a month or so. I’ve had time to explore the ins and outs of each system and I feel comfortable enough with each to be able to point out what I really like about each one. And believe me, each one has something to like.

I’m not going to talk about price or game selection. The price is what it is, it will change, and if you want it, you’ll figure out a way to get it. The game selection is pointless to debate. The gamescape will look very different six months, a year, and two years from now. Every major game console had a crappy starter library when it launched. I’m also not going to be making a buying recommendation. I’ll go in alphabetical order, to be fair.

Microsoft Xbox 360

The best thing about the 360 is the Xbox Live system. Microsoft really put a great deal of thought into what would make a seamless and painless online experience. Everything about it is easy. Even my young kids know how to get online, look at demos, download stuff, play live arcade games, and edit their profiles. Finding and adding friends is a breeze, playing multiplayer games online is a easy, and finding new content is almost a joy. Just last night I sat down with my kids and downloaded a National Geographic special about tornado chasers, and spent a cool hour with them watching it and talking about tornados and other cool stuff. On a video game system!

In that same vein, the Xbox Live Arcade is simply spectacular. I have had so much fun playing inexpensive games – it’s a great value. For around $5 I can buy a game that will keep us entertained for weeks. The formula of taking an old game and adding tons of value to it (in the form of enhanced graphics, online play, and acheivements) is a fantastic one. They’ve added a great deal of excitement to an already excellent selection of classic, still fun games. And just out of the blue the other day, I downloaded a complete, fun game – totally for free (Aegis Wing) – it’s as if they were thanking me for being a customer.

Microsoft had well-publicized problems with their hardware – and (this is groundbreaking) – they admitted it and fixed it. Name another console company that has done that. Instead of siccing their PR and marketing machine on the masses, they simply said “Well, our bad. We’ll fix it. Sorry.” Excellent work. I was never a fan of the original Xbox, but Microsoft has done so many things right with the 360 that they’ve won me over and turned me into a fan. We have a lot of fun with the 360 in my household.

Nintendo Wii

Nintendo must have sat down, collectively meditated, and come to an almost psychic, enlightening realization about how to redefine the gaming experience. They set out to “revolutionize” home video gaming, as they did in the early 80s, and they succeeded. Everyone said time will tell, and we’re here in the future now. The numbers show that the Nintendo Wii has been nothing short of a phenomenal and staggering success all over the world. There’s no way that could happen if the system couldn’t hold up to the hype and the scrutiny of an entire generation of skeptic gamers. Count me as one of them – I burned out on Nintendo like so many others, thinking that their heydey had come and gone. Then I got a Wii and was astounded (and thrilled) to know that I was wrong.

The best thing about the Wii is that it is FUN. As I mentioned in my Wii Experience article, it really begs to be picked up and played by everyone who sees it. Everything about it – the look, the controllers, the games, they’re pretty much guaranteed to put a smile on your face.

The Virtual Console is a brilliant idea. Nintendo knows their roots, and they have tapped into the gigantic “nostalgia” maket by essentially re-selling all the games they grew successful on the first time around. And believe me, even though the emulator scene is mature enough to have a good NES experience on your PC, there is nothing quite like re-creating the experience of sitting on your couch, with a (now wireless) controller in your hand, playing Super Mario Brothers 2 on your big screen. If you’re around my age and you had an NES or SNES when you were a kid, you owe it to yourself to get a Wii just for this part of it. The addition of TurboGrafx 16 and Sega Genesis games clinches the deal. It seems almost sacreligious to be able to play Sonic the Hedgehog, Sword of Vermillion, and Golden Axe on a Nintendo system, but here I am, doing just that. This is the future we all dreamed of when we were 10.

I can’t talk about the Wii without mentioning the completely, and I emphasize completely, revolutionary controllers. Nobody thought it was a good idea, nobody thought it would work, but oh man were we wrong. The controllers are absolutely brilliant and they have basically enabled an entirely new mindset that is just now starting to be discovered by developers and players alike.

Sony Playstation 3

The PS3 gets a lot of bad press, so I came into ownership biased from the moment I opened the box. However, once I hooked it up, I found much to like about it.

The controllers are comfortable and light. Surprisingly light. They were so light that when I first picked one up I thought it was missing the batteries. If only all wireless devices were this lightweight!

Of course, the graphics on the PS3 are stunning. The vast processing power of the multi-core Cell processor is barely tapped by the current game development going on, and you can tell. Once developers and programmers really get a grasp on this new architecture, we will be seeing some incredible games on this system, I’m convinced. I’m not talking graphically either. The fact that Stanford chose the PS3 for it’s Folding@Home project shows that the computational power of the Cell is phenomenal. I’m very excited to see what some truly innovative and creative developers can do with all the “brains” behind the sleek, black box.

The Playstation Store is well done and already has a lot to offer. The original content this early into the launch is of a very high quality. I’ve been having a blast with some of the original downloadable content such as Super Stardust HD and Calling All Cars. It also seems like Sony is tapping into the nostalgia market by releasing some arcade classics such as Q-Bert and Joust. I really like the PS2 backwards compatibility, because it gives the PS3 a vast library of excellent games right from day one. There are still some fantastic games coming out for the PS2 platform.

I’ve also had a lot of surprisingly good times with the PS3. I guess you could say that despite my preconceived notions going in, the PS3 has surprised me. Now instead of having a vague “feeling” that Sony is going to tank with this, and it will be a flop a la the Dreamcast, now I feel that the platform has potential and is still a very entertaining piece of hardware to have.

Tags: gaming, PS3, Wii, Xbox360